Sophie Stephenson PhDx’25 researches privacy concerns of TikTok “Sharenting”

Stephenson’s advisor, Assistant Professor in Computer Sciences Rahul Chatterjee, says that her work represents a shift in the field towards a more human-centered approach to cybersecurity. Is it safe to share videos of children on TikTok? With 1.5 billion monthly users, TikTok has become one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. Users have flocked to the platform to watch quick, entertaining content from people around the world. Much of this content includes parents sharing videos of their children. Sharenting, or social media sharing of children by parents, is not a new phenomenon; for years, parenting bloggers and influencers have been creating content on platforms like Instagram. However, TikTok can enable parenting content to reach a broader audience than ever before. “People are sharing information about their children, sometimes really intimate information,” says Sophie Stephenson, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Sciences. “Because it’s TikTok, it is going out to very large audiences and often to people who aren’t seeking it out.” Stephenson, Ph.D. x’25, a member of the Security and Privacy Research group, has published new research on sharenting on TikTok and its privacy implications. This research, funded by the NSF, is among the first of its kind, reflecting the goal of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences to connect technology and humanity. Entering her fifth year of the Ph.D. program, Stephenson conducts research on human-centered security and privacy, examining the interpersonal elements of these topics.